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business cards for writers

I have something cool to show you.

But first, some background.

Years ago, I used to take pictures, usually of flowers, sometimes of homeschool projects, often of my kids.

Then I got lazy. The camera was too unwieldy to take everywhere, it was too much of a pain to get the pictures off it, and my husband got an iPhone so it was easy for him to pull it out and snap a picture or two.

I got used to this, so when my cool new business cards arrived, I said (as usual), “Dear, can you pull out your iPhone and snap a picture of these?”

My obliging husband er… obliged, and took this picture:

Business Cards-Brown Background

Oh, dear. The brown background gave the black-and-white cover of Shattered an unfortunate sepia tint (not to mention my husband and his cell phone are usually only around after work in the evenings, when one has to use artificial lighting anyway–which can be trying).

So I asked him to take a picture with a light background.

He did so.

Business Cards-Light Background

 

The Shattered cover looks closer to normal, but there’s that flash glare on theΒ Rainbird one…

At this point my husband gave me the no-more-pictures-do-it-yourself look and went upstairs to give the youngest child a bath. I toyed with idea of posing the cards one more time, perhaps even unearthing the digital camera out of the depths of… wherever it is, fiddling with cables and getting into the photo-managing software.

That sounded tiring, even to me.

So there you have them: cell phone pics in trying lighting of my new business cards, which are ten times cooler than what they look like in this picture.

Pertinent details:

  • I used Moo for these cards. They came in two packs of 50. The “I break fairy tales” version comes with the Shattered cover. The “I fuse fantasy & science fiction” comes in Rainbird and Mourning Cloak flavors.
  • Perhaps I should have gone with rounded edges? Any thoughts on that for next time?
  • The QR codes go straight to my website. If I’d been clever–or had more time–I could’ve set up a special business-card-exclusive page on my site for goodies, but I didn’t. Note to self: Remember that for next time. However: QR codes! Eeek! I’ve always wanted them!
  • They came with a 15%-off coupon code for first time card orders, so if you want it, leave me a comment and I’ll email it to you.

The reason why I hurried up and got these is because:

a) I meet people in Real Life. Sometimes I even tell them I’m a writer. Sometimes they even ask about my books and seem interested when I tell them. Sometimes I wish I had a business card to give them. Well now I do!

b) I’m going to Balticon at the end of the month! With the husband. Who will have his cell phone. So there will be pics. Trying pics, probably, but pics nonetheless.

Do you have writer business cards? Take a picture (with a cell phone, of course *wink*) and share them with us! Do you have other offline marketing tactics to share?

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Filed Under: pretty pictures, self-promotion Tagged With: art-as-business

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Liana Mir says

    May 15, 2013 at 6:29 pm

    Pretty!

    Reply
    • Rabia says

      May 15, 2013 at 6:31 pm

      Thanks. πŸ™‚

      Reply
      • Liana Mir says

        May 15, 2013 at 6:39 pm

        Is Moo as supremely gorgeous/high quality as I’ve heard?

        Reply
        • Rabia says

          May 15, 2013 at 6:40 pm

          I think so. πŸ™‚

          Reply
          • Rabia says

            May 15, 2013 at 6:40 pm

            PS: If you want to see for yourself, I can mail you one or more of my cards. I have plenty. πŸ˜€

          • Liana Mir says

            May 15, 2013 at 6:41 pm

            Yes, please! You are too good to me. πŸ˜€

  2. LisaM says

    May 16, 2013 at 5:13 am

    They look absolutely gorgeous. You must have been so excited when they arrived. The QR code is a great idea as is the page especially for goodies.
    The square corners make the cards look more like a physical book which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Rounded corners have the advantage of being less sharp, of course, but I don’t have a preference either way once the card is pretty (and yours are VERY PRETTY!). πŸ™‚

    Reply
    • Rabia says

      May 16, 2013 at 11:16 am

      Hi, Lisa! Glad to see you! How was your Internet hiatus? Hope you had a great time recharging. πŸ™‚
      I’ve always wanted an excuse to have a QR code. I don’t why. They just tickle my fancy. πŸ˜€

      Reply
  3. Ellen Gregory says

    May 16, 2013 at 5:49 am

    It’s a great idea to have them, especially when going to a convention. They look fabulous! I wouldn’t have thought of getting a QR (wasn’t aware that’s what they’re called or that you could get them). Makes the cards look way cool.

    I’ve been taking heaps of photos using my phone recently. I find a black top stretched out on a table makes for a good back drop. And yes, natural light is best, but not always available.

    Reply
    • Rabia says

      May 16, 2013 at 11:18 am

      Yes, there are QR code generators online. Moo (the company I used) also generates a QR code for you during the design process if you want one. I love the way they look!

      Reply
  4. Mike Schulenberg says

    May 18, 2013 at 5:05 pm

    Awesome business cards. You sure have some great art for your book covers πŸ™‚

    Reply
    • Rabia says

      May 18, 2013 at 7:26 pm

      Thanks, Mike! I got a chance to hand some of them out this evening, and they looked pretty awesome. πŸ˜€

      Reply

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